Former PP councillor in Móstoles tells judge mayor made three sexual advances, then harassed her at work after rejection
Ana Isabel Mate detailed three propositions from Manuel Bautista to a Madrid court on Monday, saying her refusal triggered workplace harassment and that the PP failed to protect her despite repeated internal warnings.
Court testimony
The former PP councillor in Móstoles, Ana Isabel Mate, spent about three hours before a judge on Monday ratifying a criminal complaint that accuses mayor Manuel Bautista of sexual and workplace harassment. Mate told the Violence Against Women section of the local court that Bautista made three sexual propositions, each inside a car, during a short period. Her lawyer, Antonio Suárez-Valdés, said the first advance was declined because Mate thought it might be a misunderstanding; the second was rejected “much more firmly,” and the third she described as an “absolute and total” refusal, telling him she was not attracted to him in any way and that the offers had to stop.
A declaration that is absolutely credible, coherent and very adequate.
From propositions to alleged workplace abuse
After the third rejection, Mate said the mayor initiated a process of workplace harassment. She claims false rumours about an affective-sexual relationship were spread, her duties were disrupted, and a hostile environment made it impossible to work normally. The complaint, which she filed on 16 February 2026, lists six offences: sexual harassment, workplace harassment, bodily harm, coercion, an attack on moral integrity and disclosure of secrets.
- Manuel Bautista recruits Ana Isabel Mate onto the PP electoral list for Móstoles.
- Mate leaves her council seat and the party after internal complaints go unanswered.
- Mate files a criminal complaint with six charges against Bautista and the PP.
- Prosecutor requests the court give the investigation ‘procedural impetus.’
- Mate ratifies her complaint in a three-hour hearing before the Violence Against Women court.
The party’s inaction
Mate testified that she informed the Partido Popular about the situation on multiple occasions, but “not the slightest bit of attention was paid.” She said she felt coerced by the interlocutors designated by the Madrid regional government, led by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, and that her request to activate a protocol against sexual and workplace harassment went unanswered. The party’s internal rights and guarantees committee, overseen by national leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, eventually archived the case without interviewing her or calling the witnesses she proposed. Ayuso received the mayor personally days after learning of the allegations, while Mate never secured a meeting with her.
She spoke about how she felt coerced by her interlocutors.
The mayor’s response
Manuel Bautista has denied all accusations and described the case as a “political and media witch-hunt.” In earlier remarks he compared the treatment to dehumanisation campaigns in “old Germany.” On Monday, while Mate was testifying, Bautista attended a minute’s silence for the victims of a double earthquake in Venezuela and avoided journalists. His legal team has requested the case be shelved.
Next steps
The Madrid prosecutor’s office had already demanded in March that the investigation be given “procedural impetus,” and Monday’s testimony is a significant step in a case that continues to generate political tension inside the Madrid PP. Mate left her council seat and the party in 2024, after having been recruited by Bautista in 2022 as his number two for the municipal election campaign.
